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- MODIFICATION NOTES FOR THE TurboROM SYSTEM
-
- 6/17/86
-
-
- This disk is provided as a service to those who wish to modify or
- experiment with the TurboROM RAM resident system. Additonal disks
- and information is available from Advent Products, Inc. and
- Plu*Perfect Systems with regards to patches and improvements for
- application programs and extensions to the TurboROM.
-
- 1. Basic I/O System BIOS
-
- The source code to the high memory BIOS, TURBO-BS.ASM is
- provided as standard on the support disk shipped with the
- TurboROM. This disk contains the compiled listing which shows
- the relative addresses of the various parts.
-
- This code has been assembled with the CDL Macro III assembler
- which is not commonly available. The reason we use this
- assembler is that it is the only product that meets our
- requirements for sparse (i.e. patchable) relocatable code with an
- arbitrary number of relocation bases. This assembler was
- originally available from Technical Design Labs in the middle
- seventies. Its ownership then passed to Xitan and then
- reverted to CDL who were recently purchased by Rising Star
- Industries (of VALDOCS fame). Currently, RSI is selling
- the assembler, linker and debuggers for $70. The package is
- called "RSI Assembly Language Programming Tools/ TPM III User's
- Guide." Their address is 25500 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 2000,
- Torrance CA 90505. Phone (213) 373- 9112. An equivalent
- assembler is also available from Phoenix who was also originally
- also connected with TDL.
-
- If you have access to a CDL type assembler and want to modify the
- BIOS you may chose to re-write the BIOS or you may wish to do
- your additions as a relocatable patch (with origin at the
- label LDPARM in the current bios.). If you use the .phex and the
- .xlink pseudo ops this will produce a REL file that can be
- merged with the current TURBO-BS.REL using any text editor.
- Just make sure there is only one EOF record. Then on a stock
- Kaypro system re-run the MAKTURBO utility using your newly
- modifed TURBO-BS.REL file. Run MOVTURBO to build an operating
- system of desired size and then use TURBOGEN to write the
- operating system on the system tracks of your boot disk.
-
- Note if you are patching the BIOS that all the cold boot
- initialization code is placed in front of the command
- processor where it is abandoned to give a larger TPA. There
- is almost a whole sector free for additional initialization
- code in this area. Almost 4 full sectors are also available at
- the end of the BIOS, but take care to avoid the first 42H
- bytes which a are reserved for scratch space by the BIOS.
-
-
- 2. Console Command Processor CCP
-
-
- The most common request we get is for the ability to integrate
- ZCPR3 into the system. Echelon, Inc. offers versions of ZCPR3
- that can be used with the TurboROM, and most of the Kaypro
- bulletin board systems offer ZCPR3 for the TurboROM online.
-
- Echelon's address:
-
- Echelon, Inc.
- 101 First Street, Suite 427
- Los Altos, CA 94022
- (415) 948-3820
-
- The command processor can be overlayed with a new one as long
- as the 2K limit is not exceeded. However, a better solution
- is to re-assemble the command processor with Digital
- Research's RMAC and then use LINK-80 to produce a new PRL
- file that can be integrated in a relocatable manner with the
- TurboROM system (by re-running the MAKTURBO utility). On this
- disk there is the source code to ZCPR1 that is used in this
- manner. To produce a suitable PRL file from this:-
-
-
- RMAC ZCPR ;;assemble and produce microsoft type REL
- LINK ZCPR[OP,L0200] ;;link REL file and output PRL with load
- ;;address of 0200 H
-
- Then on a stock Kaypro system re-run the MAKTURBO utility using
- your newly linked ZCPR.PRL file. Run MOVTURBO to build an
- operating system of desired size and then use TURBOGEN to write
- the operating system on the system tracks of your boot disk.
-
-
- 3. Files on the Developer's Disk
-
-
- -READ .ME
-
- This documentation file.
-
- HARDNOTE.TXT
-
- Notes by Derek McKay at Plu*Perfect systems on the care and
- feeding of hard disk drives for use with the TurboROM.
-
-
- NOBLANK .ASM
-
- 8080 assembly language source for NOBLANK.COM.
-
- NOBLANK .COM
-
- Executable program to inhibit video screen blanking on the
- 84 and Kaypro 10 versions of the TurboROM. This program sets
- a flag in high memory to a non-zero value. This program does
- not verify that the TurboROM is present nor does it check
- that the machine is '84 type Kaypro (translation: use this
- program ONLY on an '84 or Kaypro 10 with the TurboROM).
-
- ROM .DOC
-
- Documentation on the internal structure and workings of the
- TurboROM. These notes were used while developing the
- TurboROM. These may be of use to those who wish to write
- programs to take advantage of the TurboROM features. Some
- of this material is duplicated in the TurboROM manual.
-
- STATLN .C
-
- "C" source for a program to enable/disable the 25th line on
- '84 and Kaypro 10 computers with the TurboROM.
-
- STATLN .COM
-
- Executable program to enable/disable the 25th line on '84
- and Kaypro 10 computers with the TurboROM.
-
- TURBO-BS.PRN
-
- Print file of assembled BIOS used by the TurboROM.
-
- TURBOSAF.ASM
-
- Assembly language "source" for the TURBOSAF.COM program.
- Notes are included in the source on how to patch the
- executable version (TURBOSAF.COM).
-
- TURBOSAF.COM
-
- Executable program used to "park" the heads on hard disk
- drives. This program must be "patched" with the cylinder
- number that the heads are to be positioned over. This
- program supports two hard disk drives connected to the WD-
- 1002 hard disk controller.
-
- ZCPR .ASM
-
- Assembly language source for the version of ZCPR1 used by
- the TurboROM.